New Immune Pathway Could Supercharge mRNA Cancer Vaccines

A Washington University mouse study found mRNA cancer vaccines can still trigger strong anti-tumor T cell responses even without the dendritic cell type long thought to be essential.

A related dendritic cell subtype, cDC2, was able to drive the immune response, revealing an alternate pathway for vaccine-induced immunity.

The findings challenge a long-held model of how mRNA vaccines activate the immune system and could help improve future cancer vaccine design and trials.